VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKT #0791 0821213
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 231213Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0854
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 4086
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 4356
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9439
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2339
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3744
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 9417
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 000791 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INS 
NSC FOR RICHELSOPH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2016 
TAGS: PREL XD NP
SUBJECT: SAARC SECRETARIAT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT OBSERVER 
STATUS FOR U.S. 
 
REF: SECSTATE 44531 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 (b/d). 
 
SECRETARY GENERAL OF SAARC SECRETARIAT WELCOMES U.S. INTEREST 
 
SIPDIS 
IN OBSERVER STATUS... 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------- 
 
¶1. (C) Prior to the Ambassador's return, Charge delivered 
reftel talking points in a March 22 meeting with South Asian 
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretary 
General Mr. Chenkyab Dorji, who reacted positively to the 
U.S. request for observer status in SAARC.  Dorji said the 
next step, procedurally, should be a formal letter from the 
U.S. Secretary of State to the Foreign Minister of 
Bangladesh, the current SAARC chair, requesting observer 
status in SAARC.  Dorji noted that sending the formal request 
letter before the upcoming SAARC standing committee meeting 
of foreign ministers on April 10 could expedite the approval 
process.  The Secretary General mentioned that the South 
Korean Ambassador to Nepal had also requested observer status 
in SAARC during a March 21 meeting.  Dorji half-jokingly said 
his staff would have to expand to cope with the new wave of 
interest in SAARC, explaining that while SAARC had grown over 
its 20 years of existence, the staff of the SAARC Secretariat 
had remained static. 
 
...ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT FUTURE U.S COOPERATION WITH SAARC 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶2. (C) Dorji expressed hope that representatives of the U.S. 
government and the SAARC Secretariat would meet to discuss 
areas of cooperation once the formalities of the U.S. 
obtaining observer status were completed.  Dorji noted the 
recent creation of a SAARC Commission for Poverty 
Alleviation, whose goal is to reduce poverty by 50 percent 
within SAARC countries by 2015.  He added that member states 
had already contributed USD 300 million to a SAARC poverty 
alleviation fund.  National contributions are based on a 
formula involving population and economic indicators, which 
mean that India had contributed the lion's share.  When Dorji 
mentioned that the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) 
had gone into effect on January 1, 2006, Charge drew his 
attention to a United States Agency for International 
Development (USAID)-funded technical assistance project in 
support of SAFTA, completed in the latter half of 2005, that 
had helped participants overcome difficulties and 
reservations in bringing the framework treaty into effect. 
Dorji noted that one of SAARC's current initiatives was an 
attempt to develop harmonized customs procedures.  Charge 
pointed out that the U.S., often working with international 
organizations, had considerable experience in this area.  He 
added that the U.S. was interested in assisting the 
development of viable regional organizations in South and 
Central Asia and indicated that the USG, once granted 
observer status, might be able to discuss provision of 
technical assistance to regional efforts to address common 
problems such as energy security, water and environmental 
issues. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶3. (C) We had expected the SAARC Secretariat to be supportive 
of our request for observer status but the Secretary 
General's enthusiasm was apparent.  He all but urged us to 
submit a formal letter of request before the April 10 
ministerial. 
MORIARTY